Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

JFH Indie Review

JFH Indie Inspection Review

Cloverton

Cloverton
We Sing Joy EP

Street Date: October 31, 2014
Style: Pop / Christmas
Buy It: iTunes


With humble beginnings as the worship team at a small church in Manhattan, Kansas, The Lance Stafford Band - now known as Cloverton - got a chance to spread their music to a broader audience when they were picked up by nationally-syndicated radio station K-LOVE/Air-1. They followed it up with a tremendously successful Kickstarter campaign and the following full-length album Patterns last year. And this year, the band is back with a six-track Christmas EP entitled We Sing Joy. Christmas albums are a big (and lucrative) thing in the Christian music industry; much like worship albums, carols are recycled and rehashed in abundance every year. The problem with this is that many bands that do it don't even bother to try anything new with it. The main strength with Cloverton's offering lies in the exact opposite. These are all familiar Christmas carols, but Cloverton takes strides to make them at least somewhat original, mostly in re-writing the melodies for several of them. Had I not known a decent amount of the lyrics for "What Child Is This," I may not have even recognized their version of it. Completely re-arranged, Cloverton's melody for this song briefly brings to mind the cover of "Mad World" by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews (if only for a moment). "We Sing Joy (Joy to the World)" is another example, though the vocal melody sounds like it's in a different time signature than the music, and, as a result, sounds a little offbeat. It's a little difficult to get past, unfortunately, as is the overwhelming autotune and over-accentuation of certain sounds and syllables in "Silent Night." However, the rest of the EP is fairly strong. The intro "Arrival" leads perfectly into "What Child Is This," the newly-written verses for "Do You Hear" fit in very well with the rest of the song, and their rendition of "I Heard The Bells" is very accomplished. The band has a catchy pop rock sound akin to Building 429 or Third Day, and is willing to experiment with the sound, which will certainly come in handy as they continue to grow and write new music. We Sing Joy is far from the strongest Christmas offering I've heard, but it has a few charms on it that you might like to add to your holiday playlist.

- Review date: 11/17/14, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!


 

 

 

go to main Indie review page
go to Indie Review Index

 

                 
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

Search JFH




This Friday, November 8, 2024
ALBUMS
2003ub313 Giants EP [The Charon Collective]
Aklesso Loner (independent)
Gabby Barrett Carols and Candlelight [Warner Music Nashville]
The Choir Patreon Sessions (independent)
CXMMXNS CXMMXNS Chapter 1 - EP [Essential Worship]
DJ Mykael V & 1995 BODEGA 2! (independent)
Fire From Heaven One Riff To Rule Them All (independent)
Daniel Hardin Geoff With A G, Pt. 4 EP (independent)
Impending Doom Live From Exile (independent)
LIFE Worship Stones of Remembrance: Volume 1 - EP [Integrity]
Light the Way Expel [Small Step]
New Hope Oahu There Is One - EP [DREAM]
Neal Morse & The Resonance No Hill For A Climber [InsideOut]
nobigdyl. Even Lower EP (independent)
Psallos Advent Songs EP (independent)
Psallos Christmas Songs EP (independent)
Songs From The Soil, Marc James Live at the Garden - EP [Integrity]
Sower The Seed EP (independent)
TAKE Time Bomb [Resuscitation Records]
Lauren Talley A Lauren Talley Christmas [Horizon]
Various Artists Fighting From the Ground Up, Vol. 4 [Indie Vision Music]
Wind and Sail Walking Club Sessions (independent)
Wolves at the Gate Lowborn (instrumentals) EP [Solid State]

SINGLES
Above the Clouds The Product - Single [Polished Arrow]
Cory Asbury I Hope You Dance - Single [BEC]
Micah Barbosa Close To You - Single (independent)
Bethel Music Center (Live) (feat. Abbie Gamboa) - Single [Bethel]
CHANGETHEWXRLD In A World - Single (independent)
Confessions of a Traitor Doomsayer (feat. Exist Immortal) - Single [Facedown]
Drenae His Plans - Single [Syntax]
Grace Graber More Than A Miracle (feat. Jonathan Cyphers) - Single (independent)
Ashley Gronholm Miracle in Me - Single (independent)
IMRSQD Backstroke Freddy - Single (independent)
Paige King Johnson Boots Under My Tree - Single [PCG]
Jordan Kauflin, Laura Story Approach, My Soul - Single [Getty]
Brandon Lake Hard Fought Hallelujah - Single [Provident]
Mr. Weaverface O God, Help Me - Single (independent)
Jeannie Ortega Don't Ever - Single [Syntax]
Oyarsa Sundrops - Single (independent)
Pulpit Vomit Turkey Annihilation (Redux) - Single [Broken Curfew Records]
Reliance Now or Never - Single [Thumper Punk Records]
The Riverside Great Feast at the King's Hall - Single (independent)
Sam Bowman & GLADDEN Misfit Toys - Single [DREAM]
Wavorly Enemies - Single (independent)
Natasha Zimbaro O Holy Night - Single (independent)

VINYL
Michael W. Smith Every Christmas Vinyl [Rocketown]
Stryper To Hell with the Amps Vinyl [Frontiers]
TAKE Time Bomb Vinyl [Resuscitation Records]

DVD
Stryper To Hell with the Amps Blu-Ray [Frontiers]

Next Friday, November 15, 2024
ALBUMS
Aaron Cole OMARI - EP [RCA Inspiration]
Dolly Parton & Family Smoky Mountain DNA – Family, Faith & Fables [Owepar Entertainment]
The Lore Family Faith Over Fear [Horizon]
Fernando Ortega For All the Saints - EP (independent)
Earnest Pugh Worth is the Lamb
We Are Messengers Rejoice! (A Celtic Christmas) - EP [Curb]
Paul Wright III Reverie [United Alliance]

SINGLES
Big Dismal Here In My Heart - Single (independent)
Blanca Worthy (Spanish + Spanglish Versions) - Double Single [Curb]
Hannah Kerr It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Single [Curb]
Olivia Lane Silent Night - Single [BEC]
Tasha Layton Wake Up It's Christmas - Single [BEC]
Jamie MacDonald A Million Chances - Single [Capitol CMG]
Ronnie Martin On Christmas Morning - Single [Velvet Blue]
Hunter Plake Daylight - Single [BEC]
Jordan St. Cyr Christ is Here - Single [BEC]

VINYL
Sixpence None the Richer Divine Discontent Vinyl [Word]



For all release dates, click here!
 



Check out the new album from Taylor Holland Armstrong!



Listen to the new Single from Second Adam and the New Creations!

Check out depositphotos for royalty free images